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Dixon Foundation to increase number of HACC scholarships

The Francis J. Dixon Foundation will increase the number of scholarships it gives out at the Lebanon Campus.

By Brad Rhen

bradrhen@ldnews.com @bradrhen on Twitter

Updated:
03/18/2014 03:09:18 PM EDT

Frank Dixon founder and chairman of emeritus of the Francis J. Dixon Foundation and Co-Founder of the HACC Lebanon Campus, talks about a new nursing program following the announcement of a nurse aid training program in February 2013. LEBANON DAILY NEWS - JEREMY LONG

More students will now find it easier and more affordable to attend HACC thanks to Lebanon philanthropist Frank Dixon.

Dixon, through his Francis J. Dixon Foundation, recently announced that the foundation is doubling the number of $1,000 scholarships it gives out each year from 100 to 200, starting with the 2014-15 school year.

And, the restrictions on the scholarships are being eased.

While the scholarships are available only to Lebanon County residents who are full-time HACC students, they may take classes at any of HACC's five campuses, including the Virtual Campus; however, at least six credits must be taken at the Lebanon Campus.

Also, there are no family income limitations attached to the grants.

"The cost of education is certainly escalating to the point where maybe some people just can't afford to go to the high price schools," Dixon said. "This is a good way to get started and we wanted to encourage people to start this way."

Dixon pointed out that HACC credits are transferable to many other schools. Students who attend HACC for one or two years then transfer to a traditional four-year college would save a significant amount of money, he said.

"We're just trying to appeal to a lot more people to get started at an affordable rate," he said. "I don't think we could've made it any easier for them to get their associate's degree right here in Lebanon while they're living at home."

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Although he was forced to drop out of school at a young age to help support his family, Dixon has been an advocate of education for many years. He said it gives him great satisfaction to be in a position to be able to give back to society.

"In a highly sophisticated, technical world, we need to train students to keep us at the forefront," he said. "We are falling down. I just read that we're 15th or 17th in the world in mathematics. Something's happening, and I think a good portion of it is cost. People just can't afford $40,000 a year for education, and they're coming out of school with such debt. I wouldn't want the kind of debt that I hear some of these college graduates are facing when they get their degree."

Dixon has been a benefactor of the Lebanon Campus since its founding in 1990. Dixon, who owned Lebanon's Brandywine Recyclers from 1975 to 2008, owned the original building in which the school was housed. After selling it to the college, he donated a third of the value of the building as well as $200,000 to establish a scholarship fund for local students.

The Dixon Foundation was founded in 1989, and it first began giving tuition-assistance grants when the Lebanon Campus reopened after a fire destroyed the original building in November 1990.

In May 2009, the Dixon Foundation donated $1 million to the HACC Foundation to establish scholarships for Lebanon County high-school graduates attending the Lebanon Campus. In November 2011, the foundation donated $250,000 to the Lebanon Campus at a banquet celebrating the campus' 20th anniversary.

Deadline to apply for grants for the fall is June 2. Applications are available at the Lebanon Campus.

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